India's first PM

Nehru was the first prime minister of India and served between August 15, 1947 and May 27, 1964, when he died.

Interim PM after the deaths of Nehru and his successor Shastri

The MP from Sabarkantha in Gujarat served as the interim PM between May 27 and June 9, 1964 and between January 11 and 24, 1966.

India's second prime minister

The Allahabad MP became the prime minister after the death of Nehru. He became the PM on June 9, 1964, and remained so till January 11, 1966, when he suddenly died in Tashkent in the erstwhile Soviet Union where he had gone to sign a post-war declaration with Pakistan.

India's third prime minister

Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru, became the PM on January 24, 1966 and continued till March 24, 1977, when she lost in the parliamentary elections after a two-year Emergency. She returned to power on January 14, 1980, and remained PM till her assassination on October 31, 1984.

India's first non-Congress prime minister

Morarji Desai became the prime minister on March 24, 1977, and continued till July 28, 1979. He led the first non-Congress regime in India.

The PM who never faced the House

Charan Singh became the prime minister for just 170 days (between July 28, 1979, and January 14, 1980) after the Congress withdrew support.

Served as prime minister between 1984-89

Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as the prime minister on October 31, 1984, and he won the biggest mandate recorded till date (415 seats). He had served till 1989 and was assassinated on May 21, 1991.

Was prime minister for less than a year

The MP from Fatehpur, VP Singh became the prime minister of India's first coalition government on December 2, 1989, and continued till November 10, 1990, after the BJP withdrew support.

The Young Turk became the PM but not for long

The Ballia MP became the prime minister after VP Singh's fall but survived just 22 3 days (November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991) after the Congress took away support.

The first non-Gandhi prime minister

Narasimha Rao became the prime minister on June 21, 1991 and continued till May 16, 1996. Rao's minority government unveiled the liberalisation programme in the country in 1991.

India's first BJP prime minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the PM thrice. He became the PM for 13 days in 1996 (May 16-June 1), 13 months (in 1998-99) and 5 years (October 13, 1999 - May 19, 2004).

India's first prime minister from South India

Deve Gowda from Karnataka became the prime minister on June 1, 1996, and continued till April 21, 1997.

India's third PM from Rajya Sabha

Inder Kumar Gujral was the prime minister of India between April 21, 1997, and March 19, 1988.

India's second non-Congress prime minister

Manmohan Singh led two successive United Progressive Alliance governments at the Centre between May 22, 2004, and May 17, 2014.

India's second BJP prime minister

Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister after the BJP won a majority mandate in the Lok Sabha election of 2014.